Tears Of A Stone
by Elena Forest
Summary: Oneshot. It took him nearly a year, but he found what was right under his nose the entire time--Pandora Gem. And now he's falling, and the stone is crying for him....


Tears of a Stone

_Pandora Gem…_

The blood red stone shone in the light of the full moon. Inside it, the second red jewel glowed faintly as well.

"To think," Kaitou Kid murmured, turning the stone to look at it from another angle. "To _think_," he repeated. "It's been right under my nose this whole time."

This thought brought many questions with it. Had it been here, ten years ago, while his father searched over seas? Or had Toichi found it, and hidden it here, away from the evil men who had sought it? Had it been moved here, after his father's death, but before Kaito had become Kid II? Had it been after he had found his father's will, and taken up his current (as his mother and Jii referred to it) 'night job'? He did not know.

Kaito's white cape billowed around his ankles with the breeze. As he gazed at the gem, instead of feeling relief, happiness, or any other emotion of the sort, he felt anger and hatred well up inside himself. This single rock had caused him so much pain, him and his mother, not to mention Aoko, able to do nothing but watch as her best friend suffered.

_I want to destroy it, _he thought. A spotlight from a police helicopter gleamed off of his monocle. _Even if it destroys __me__._

Kaito did not hear the shouts of the police men that echoed around him. He stood frozen with his arm out stretched, hate coursing through his veins, until finally one cry broke him out of his reverie.

"What on earth his he DOING?"

Kaito's poker face fell back into place. _This very well may be the last time I turn to them as Kaitou Kid. _Kaito thought. A grin slipped into place. A sad grin, it was.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He yelled, turned and pacing forward with his arms thrown outward. "Police officers! I have found it!" And then he waited for the response that he knew would come. He lowered his arms and held the gem gently in his white gloved hands.

"Found what?" A faceless police officer called from the swarm that was appearing on the roof. More helicopters had appeared and were circling the rooftop.

Kaito thrust the stone into the air one more time. "This!" He crowed majestically. He lowered it again and continued, holding it in the same manner as before. "I've had great fun searching for this. I've loved our midnight chases, but one way or the other, this is most likely our last."

"THE LAST?" Inspector Nakamori bellowed as he pushed his way through the mass of rooftop officers. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, KID?"

Kaito ignored him. The gem was aloft once more, gleaming again in the moonlight. "I have found the object of my own, and my father's search," He announced. "Pandora Gem! And I will now tak—"

Kaito cut off, his voice ending in a choked syllable. He stumbled backwards, his face palling rapidly. His fingers tightened on the jewel, and his feet jumbled over each other again. He re-gained his balance momentarily and stood there swaying.

In an instant, Nakamori knew what was happening. He turned heel, and began plowing through the slew of officers, towards the door which lead to the stairs that opened to the street below.

"QUICK!" he bellowed. "TO THE STREET BELOW!!"

Kaito stumbled backwards another two steps. There was so much pain in his chest that it blurred out all thought. However, one made it through.

_I'm going to die._

Another backwards step. Another stumble. He swayed, and fell back another couple inches.

_No…_another step._ No…_another. _Not…_another. _Until…_sway. _I…_sway. _Destroy…_another step. _Pandora…_The roof beneath Kaito's feet disappeared and he was falling.

_No! _Kaito was falling from a 2-story building. About 864 feet. He would die for sure. He counted floors as he fell, gaining speed. Four windows down. Five. Six now. He had a long way to fall. When he hit the cement, every bone in his body would be broken.

His white suit was staining red. Black was lapping at the edges of his vision. It was swimming up, dragging at him, to pull him away in its current, but Kaito resisted it.

_No! _He had to fight it. He couldn't go now; he had to make sure that Pandora was destroyed! It came back, but he fought it away again. The edges of the buildings in the distance were fuzzy. Above him, the stars seemed to be blurring together.

Kaito lost track of the number of windows.

_I've lost so much blood, _Kaito thought vaguely. _It looks like jewel is crying. _His arm was still stretched up straight above him, and the jewel clutched in his fist was catching the moon's beams and reflecting them in different directions.

He summoned his last scrap of strength and thrust his arm downwards, releasing the gem. It spiraled downwards, gaining tremendous speed, until it hit the ground with a tremendous crack. Pandora Gem split into a million slivers while above, the still falling Kaitou Kid surrendered and let the waves of black come up to greet him, then enfold him in their welcoming embrace.

~*~

24 years later

It was a cloudless night in Tokyo, Japan. A figure shouldered in white stood on the rooftop of a fancy hotel, 72 stories high, silhouetted by the vast expanse of navy blue night sky.

No, Kaito Kuroba did not exist anymore. But Kaito Kid, forever sixteen, did.

* * *

Is it sad? I thought it kinda was. But I was just dying to do a fic with Kaito getting shot after finding Pandora--this kinda just appeared when I started writing it ^^; Actually, I inspired myself by drawing a pic which I title Tears of a Stone (there's a link on my page if you want to see it.)

Well, thanks for reading! ^~^

~Forest-chan


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